Local Authority Alan Payne July 2024
Reaping was a communal task requiring villagers to work together. The Luttrell Psalter about 1330 (courtesy British Library)
When the Bigods took up residence in Box and the Crokes at Hazelbury, they probably did the same as other Norman knights by establishing their authority with a fortified manor house befitting their status. Thereafter, it was a matter of reminding people of their power by fealty (tenants swearing allegiance to the lord) in return for which the lord commited to keeping the peace on their tenant's property. By the Late Medieval period, tenants were paying rent rather than supplying military or household services. As the lord extended his income through fines and customary payments from tenants, so they needed him to resolve land and inheritance disputes, requiring not his personal knowledge but adjudication through a manorial court.
Manorial Courts
Manors were unrelated to the physical area of a village or church - they related to the land owned by the lord. As well as the manors of Box, Hazelbury, Ditteridge and Ashley, several other manorial areas existed locally. In 1257 a manor called Box Super Wedere (possibly Shockerwick) belonged to Agnes St. Maur.[1] The name continued a long while and in 1583 it still controlled land in other areas of Box, including a house and 37 acres held by Thomas Snell, part of Rudlow Farm, and a Rowlease tenement called Hayes of about 50 acres.[2] A manor called Box Agard appears to have existed in the mid- fifteenth century, possibly relating to church lands and assets.[3] It was acquired by Hugh Speke and referred to in his will.[4]
The court was originally held in the lord’s hall (the manor house) but increasingly, it came under the control of the wealthiest local tenant. Some historians have distinguished two different manorial courts, the lord's court and the customery court.[5] The lord's court (sometimes called the Court Baron, the Court Leet or the View of Frank-pledge) was for free tenants usually administered directly by the lord or by his steward with the leading free tenants acting as a jury to make decisions and resolve issues. It was usually held twice a year for the customary tenants (those who held their property according to the customes of the area) and those with rights on common land.[6] At these meetings, six of the most important tenants paid homage (feudal allegiance) to the lord on behalf of all tenants. They confirmed the ancient customs of the manor to which tenants had been bound since time out of mind of man. They admitted new tenants, and dealt with changes of lordship or his officials. They determined breaches of the lord’s rights including fees due on wardships, trespass or tenement repairs needed. They resolved disputed debt between neighbours under 40 shillings and set common farming policy for the next year, included areas to be left fallow, annual varieties of crop, and sanctions for unacceptable behaviour. Its ultimate purpose was to administer law and order in the interests of the whole village, thereby enforcing conformity with local precedent.
The Court Customary (or Halmote Court) was for unfree tenants (peasants not permitted to vacate their fields) which met every three or four weeks. As with free tenants, this court was to administer disputes between tenants and to define the customs of the manor where these were unclear. Unfree tenants had no redress to bring legal actions in royal courts and, obviously, little chance of redress against the lord in his own manorial court. There is no record of the customs which existed on any of the manors in Box as there are no surviving Box manorial records. But we do know that a Box customary court existed as, in about 1227, Samson Bigod referred to grants made in his father’s hall (hallimot). This may suggest that the hall was a building separate from the Bigod house.[7] Various hypotheses have been suggested about its location but none is definitive.[8] But it is significant to mention that the manor of Corsham was granted by the lord to the control of customary tenants in the mid-thirteenth century.[9]
Manorial Officials
Various manorial officers were involved on a day-to-day basis after the late 1200s.[10] The main court officer was the lord’s steward, who chaired meetings. He received the lord’s rents and services; and heard juries’ evidence about disputes and complaints against alienation of common land.[11] Sometimes the post became hereditary and the steward often acquired parcels of free land. By 1630 Box’s steward had acquired land at the edge of common fields called Stewades Ashe and a few acres of marginal land called Stowerd Row at Ditteridge. The influence of the lord’s steward in the manorial court reduced over time in face of the collective agreement of wealthy local farmers. The tenants’ man was the reeve, usually unfree by birth often a leading husbandman in the area. He played an important role deciding what crops were to be grown on the common fields; how much seed was needed; and he reviewed the condition of the ploughs and the plough teams. The reeve was usually excused payment of rent on his tenancy and often became wealthy. Various specialists were also involved. Ploughing was controlled by the bailiff who organised the plough oxen to be yolked early and co-ordinated the ploughing duties of others (Manor Farm at Wadswick was traditionally called Bailliff’s Farm). The ploughman was a skilled worker who repaired the ploughs as well as driving the teams. The hayward supervised sowing, grazing and mowing, the Reaper controlled harvesting and the waggoner arranged transport of surpluses to market. It required a communal responsibility and was supervised closely so that all could agree. The cellars of the Wilderness have alcoves believed to be the winter storage places for manorial bee-hives.[12]
Since early times, Box had extensive dairy farming and stock breeding. Many manors had their own dairymaid who milked the animals twice a day. She was probably an important person in Box's emerging economy and had to be of good repute, with cleanliness as a requisite, and she was required to know about the quality of milk needed to make cheese and salt cheese.[13] The manor had a communal cowherd who looked after the bull, the grazing cycles of the cattle, and the calving and weaning of the animals (still remembered in the modern name Bull Lane). The communal bull was kept securely and cows brought to him for servicing. The importance of the bull was shown by its location, within easy reach of residents and winter feeding.[14]
The rotation and breeding quality of the bull were vital and sometimes the lord or the parson regulated any concerns.[15]
One of the main duties of the manor was to allocate rights in the common land, particularly the common meadow. This was vital because inadequate stocks of hay reduced the number of animals that could be over-wintered.[16] Tenants relying on common pasture were fiercely protective of the number of animals residents were allowed to graze and quotas were strictly enforced, even when they had become incomprehensible because of sub-division on inheritance (compare leaving grazing rights for a single pig equally between two children).
The Saxon concept of administering criminal law through royal shire and hundred courts continued in a modified way. For practical reasons, some of the work of the hundred courts gradually came under the control of private lords with the parish exercising justice through the work of the Tythingman (constable) with the entire tything (12 jurors) who listed foreigners (people from different parishes) requiring them to pay a yearly rent to live in Box. The tythingman dealt with disturbances of the peace, control of alehouses, the assize of bread, and the highways. He reported scandal, eavesdropping, and drunkenness. And he was responsible for the stocks, the pillory and the butts (archery range).
Church’s Parish Authority
Alongside the manorial administration, there were also parochial church authorities with which to contend. The church controlled by Monkton Farleigh Priory, exercised moral control through the vicar and the criticism of peers to ensure that residents conformed to behaviour suitable for small communities. For centuries the church authorities had jurisdiction over weddings, inheritances where parentage was disputed, and the recording of wills and bequests.
As the authority of the manorial courts declined at the end of the Late Middle Ages, the church authorities took more responsibility, keeping some manorial records such as local customs in the parish chest in the church vestry. The parish vestry committee became a meeting of all tax-payers in the church's administrative area. It collected the rates and authorised payments for civic work (such as drainage and roads) and support of disabled and disadvantaged residents. The role of the parish vestry turned increasingly introspective, protective of the local community and enforcing removal of people who were born outside of the area when they became dependant on parish relief.
Manorial Courts
Manors were unrelated to the physical area of a village or church - they related to the land owned by the lord. As well as the manors of Box, Hazelbury, Ditteridge and Ashley, several other manorial areas existed locally. In 1257 a manor called Box Super Wedere (possibly Shockerwick) belonged to Agnes St. Maur.[1] The name continued a long while and in 1583 it still controlled land in other areas of Box, including a house and 37 acres held by Thomas Snell, part of Rudlow Farm, and a Rowlease tenement called Hayes of about 50 acres.[2] A manor called Box Agard appears to have existed in the mid- fifteenth century, possibly relating to church lands and assets.[3] It was acquired by Hugh Speke and referred to in his will.[4]
The court was originally held in the lord’s hall (the manor house) but increasingly, it came under the control of the wealthiest local tenant. Some historians have distinguished two different manorial courts, the lord's court and the customery court.[5] The lord's court (sometimes called the Court Baron, the Court Leet or the View of Frank-pledge) was for free tenants usually administered directly by the lord or by his steward with the leading free tenants acting as a jury to make decisions and resolve issues. It was usually held twice a year for the customary tenants (those who held their property according to the customes of the area) and those with rights on common land.[6] At these meetings, six of the most important tenants paid homage (feudal allegiance) to the lord on behalf of all tenants. They confirmed the ancient customs of the manor to which tenants had been bound since time out of mind of man. They admitted new tenants, and dealt with changes of lordship or his officials. They determined breaches of the lord’s rights including fees due on wardships, trespass or tenement repairs needed. They resolved disputed debt between neighbours under 40 shillings and set common farming policy for the next year, included areas to be left fallow, annual varieties of crop, and sanctions for unacceptable behaviour. Its ultimate purpose was to administer law and order in the interests of the whole village, thereby enforcing conformity with local precedent.
The Court Customary (or Halmote Court) was for unfree tenants (peasants not permitted to vacate their fields) which met every three or four weeks. As with free tenants, this court was to administer disputes between tenants and to define the customs of the manor where these were unclear. Unfree tenants had no redress to bring legal actions in royal courts and, obviously, little chance of redress against the lord in his own manorial court. There is no record of the customs which existed on any of the manors in Box as there are no surviving Box manorial records. But we do know that a Box customary court existed as, in about 1227, Samson Bigod referred to grants made in his father’s hall (hallimot). This may suggest that the hall was a building separate from the Bigod house.[7] Various hypotheses have been suggested about its location but none is definitive.[8] But it is significant to mention that the manor of Corsham was granted by the lord to the control of customary tenants in the mid-thirteenth century.[9]
Manorial Officials
Various manorial officers were involved on a day-to-day basis after the late 1200s.[10] The main court officer was the lord’s steward, who chaired meetings. He received the lord’s rents and services; and heard juries’ evidence about disputes and complaints against alienation of common land.[11] Sometimes the post became hereditary and the steward often acquired parcels of free land. By 1630 Box’s steward had acquired land at the edge of common fields called Stewades Ashe and a few acres of marginal land called Stowerd Row at Ditteridge. The influence of the lord’s steward in the manorial court reduced over time in face of the collective agreement of wealthy local farmers. The tenants’ man was the reeve, usually unfree by birth often a leading husbandman in the area. He played an important role deciding what crops were to be grown on the common fields; how much seed was needed; and he reviewed the condition of the ploughs and the plough teams. The reeve was usually excused payment of rent on his tenancy and often became wealthy. Various specialists were also involved. Ploughing was controlled by the bailiff who organised the plough oxen to be yolked early and co-ordinated the ploughing duties of others (Manor Farm at Wadswick was traditionally called Bailliff’s Farm). The ploughman was a skilled worker who repaired the ploughs as well as driving the teams. The hayward supervised sowing, grazing and mowing, the Reaper controlled harvesting and the waggoner arranged transport of surpluses to market. It required a communal responsibility and was supervised closely so that all could agree. The cellars of the Wilderness have alcoves believed to be the winter storage places for manorial bee-hives.[12]
Since early times, Box had extensive dairy farming and stock breeding. Many manors had their own dairymaid who milked the animals twice a day. She was probably an important person in Box's emerging economy and had to be of good repute, with cleanliness as a requisite, and she was required to know about the quality of milk needed to make cheese and salt cheese.[13] The manor had a communal cowherd who looked after the bull, the grazing cycles of the cattle, and the calving and weaning of the animals (still remembered in the modern name Bull Lane). The communal bull was kept securely and cows brought to him for servicing. The importance of the bull was shown by its location, within easy reach of residents and winter feeding.[14]
The rotation and breeding quality of the bull were vital and sometimes the lord or the parson regulated any concerns.[15]
One of the main duties of the manor was to allocate rights in the common land, particularly the common meadow. This was vital because inadequate stocks of hay reduced the number of animals that could be over-wintered.[16] Tenants relying on common pasture were fiercely protective of the number of animals residents were allowed to graze and quotas were strictly enforced, even when they had become incomprehensible because of sub-division on inheritance (compare leaving grazing rights for a single pig equally between two children).
The Saxon concept of administering criminal law through royal shire and hundred courts continued in a modified way. For practical reasons, some of the work of the hundred courts gradually came under the control of private lords with the parish exercising justice through the work of the Tythingman (constable) with the entire tything (12 jurors) who listed foreigners (people from different parishes) requiring them to pay a yearly rent to live in Box. The tythingman dealt with disturbances of the peace, control of alehouses, the assize of bread, and the highways. He reported scandal, eavesdropping, and drunkenness. And he was responsible for the stocks, the pillory and the butts (archery range).
Church’s Parish Authority
Alongside the manorial administration, there were also parochial church authorities with which to contend. The church controlled by Monkton Farleigh Priory, exercised moral control through the vicar and the criticism of peers to ensure that residents conformed to behaviour suitable for small communities. For centuries the church authorities had jurisdiction over weddings, inheritances where parentage was disputed, and the recording of wills and bequests.
As the authority of the manorial courts declined at the end of the Late Middle Ages, the church authorities took more responsibility, keeping some manorial records such as local customs in the parish chest in the church vestry. The parish vestry committee became a meeting of all tax-payers in the church's administrative area. It collected the rates and authorised payments for civic work (such as drainage and roads) and support of disabled and disadvantaged residents. The role of the parish vestry turned increasingly introspective, protective of the local community and enforcing removal of people who were born outside of the area when they became dependant on parish relief.
Conclusion
The evolution of the village out of the direct control of the medieval lord of the manor was full of confusing overlaps of courts, duties and common laws. This uncertainty helped to encourage both the self-autonomy of areas (the vill) and also the opportunity of the Tudor kings to assert their control. Both of these aspects is dealt with in later articles on the website.
The evolution of the village out of the direct control of the medieval lord of the manor was full of confusing overlaps of courts, duties and common laws. This uncertainty helped to encourage both the self-autonomy of areas (the vill) and also the opportunity of the Tudor kings to assert their control. Both of these aspects is dealt with in later articles on the website.
References
[1] John Aubrey, Wiltshire - Topographical Collections, edited Canon Jackson, The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1862, p.56
[2] Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Vol. XXIII, p.232
[3] Victoria County History, Wiltshire, Vol 8, Warminster Manors, Cheneys Manor
[4] GJ Kidston, A History of the Manor of Hazelbury, 1936, p.312
[5] This was claimed by Sir Edward Croke in the 1600s but other historians believe that the distinction between the two courts was uncertain and originally there was only a single court.
[6] Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Vol III, p.148
[7] GJ Kidston, A History of the Manor of Hazelbury, 1936, p.125
[8] Jane Cox suggested it could be Ingalls referring to the King's Hall (Ing Hall), Jane Cox, The Norman Conquest of Box, Wiltshire, 2016, ELSP, P.144
[9] CJ Hall, Corsham: An Illustrated History Part 1, 1983, p.7
[10] Christopher Dyer, Everyday Life in Medieval England, 1994, Hambledon Press, p.10
[11] Nathaniel J Hone, The Manor and Manorial Records, 1971, Kennikat Press, p.67-70
[12] Courtesy Kate Carless
[13] Nathaniel J Hone, The Manor and Manorial Records, 1971, Kennikat Press, p.71
[14] John Field, A History of English Field-names, 1993, Longman, p.115
[15] JH Bettey, Rural Life in Wessex 1500-1900, 1987, Alan Sutton, p.16
[16] WE Tate, The English Parish Community, 1967, The Camelot Press, p.32
[1] John Aubrey, Wiltshire - Topographical Collections, edited Canon Jackson, The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1862, p.56
[2] Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Vol. XXIII, p.232
[3] Victoria County History, Wiltshire, Vol 8, Warminster Manors, Cheneys Manor
[4] GJ Kidston, A History of the Manor of Hazelbury, 1936, p.312
[5] This was claimed by Sir Edward Croke in the 1600s but other historians believe that the distinction between the two courts was uncertain and originally there was only a single court.
[6] Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Vol III, p.148
[7] GJ Kidston, A History of the Manor of Hazelbury, 1936, p.125
[8] Jane Cox suggested it could be Ingalls referring to the King's Hall (Ing Hall), Jane Cox, The Norman Conquest of Box, Wiltshire, 2016, ELSP, P.144
[9] CJ Hall, Corsham: An Illustrated History Part 1, 1983, p.7
[10] Christopher Dyer, Everyday Life in Medieval England, 1994, Hambledon Press, p.10
[11] Nathaniel J Hone, The Manor and Manorial Records, 1971, Kennikat Press, p.67-70
[12] Courtesy Kate Carless
[13] Nathaniel J Hone, The Manor and Manorial Records, 1971, Kennikat Press, p.71
[14] John Field, A History of English Field-names, 1993, Longman, p.115
[15] JH Bettey, Rural Life in Wessex 1500-1900, 1987, Alan Sutton, p.16
[16] WE Tate, The English Parish Community, 1967, The Camelot Press, p.32